Troughing roller assembly



Aug. 20, 1963 R. F. LO PREST! TROUGHING ROLLER ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 00.11. 27, 1958 INVENTOR. Roy F Lo Presri A TTORNEV Aug. 20, 1963 R. F. LO PRESTl 3,101,144

TROUGHING' ROLLER ASSEMBLY Filed Oct. 27, 1958 2 SheetsSheet 2 I 86 INVENTOR.

85 Roy F LoPresfi United States Patent r-I I r 3,101,144 Patented Aug. 20, 1963 3,1tl1,144 i TROUGHING ROLLER ASSEMBLY Roy'F. Lo Prcsti, Chicago, Ill, assignor to Goodman Manufacturing Company, Chicago, EL, a corporation of Illinois V Filed st. 27, 1958, Ser. No. 769,944

3 Claims; (Cl. 198-192) This invention relates in general to flexible strand eon veyors having good belt-roller contact characteristics and particularly to a troughing idler assembly. 7

Flexible strand conveyors of the type illustrated in the Craggs et all. Patent No. 2,773,257 have come into increasingly widespread use due to their ruggedness, adapt ability, and low initial and maintenance costs. In this type of conveyor ap -air rot flexible strands, such as wire ropes, are suspended from supporting stands and flexible troughing idler assemblies are hung from the strands at intervals. A flexible belt isthen trained along thebed formed by the troughing idler assemblies to thereby fiOtUIlfl a movable flexible platform cfor carrying coal, ore, slurries When the assemblies support only a flexible belt and carry no load, the angle of flexure between the center and wingrollers may be on the order of ten to twenty degrees, whereas under load conditions the angle of flexure may be as high as sixty degrees.

Several :factors allect the tendency of the flexible belt to remain trained along the roller assemblies. In a loaded condition, the weight of the load will press the flexible belt into intimate contact with the rollers, particularly the center roller, and a good training effect is achieved. In an unloaded condition, the flexible belt may make little or only intermittent contact with the primary training roller due to the inherent stiffness of the belt and detraining tendencies inherent in any flexible strand conveyor may cause the belt to run up one wing roller 1. which the primary centerl load carrying training roller is maintained above the upper inneredges of the wing rollers. a i

Yetanother object is to provide a pivotal connecting assembly for maintaining the primary training roller a uniform diameter troughing idler assembly-above the upper inner edges of the wing rollers in allloaded and unloaded conditions;

- Yet anotherobject :is to provide a troughing idler assembly wherein -the primarytraining roller is resiliently suspended between a pair of wing rollers to thereby main- Q tain the level or theprimary training roller above the level of the adjacentupper inner edges of the wing rollers inat least a no load condition wlhile permitting the primary roller to approach the level of the upper edges of the wing rollers under loaded conditions. 1

Yet a turther object is to provide a resilient connecting "assembly capable :of receivingand supporting the primary training nollerof atrough ing idler assembly whichde-- 1 forms under load to thereby vary the position of the training. roller. with respect to the wing rollers v Other objects and advantages of the invention will become-apparent from the tollowing description amen in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein by way of illustration and example certain embodiments of the inventionare set torth. I

FIGURE lis a vertical diagrammatic sectional view of a portion of a flexiblestrand conveyor illustrating one I embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged elevation of'the tronghing' idler assembly illustrated in FlGURE l;

amodification of the invention;

FIGURE 4 is a partial View of adjacent roller ends taken along the line 44 of FIGURE 3 with parts in section;

and down the other. Of even more importance in main- 7 flexible belt may pass over the middle assemblies without making contact with the primary roller. The amount of contact will depend on [factors such as the weight and inherent stiffness of the belt, the tension in the belt, and, primarily, the spacing between stands and assemblies. I Accordingly, the primary object of the invention is to provide means for maintaining the primary training roller in contact with the flexible belt under all conditions of load and idler assembly spacing. l

Another object is to provide means for maintaining the primary training roller of a troughing idler assembly above the upper inner edges of the adjacent wing rollers under all conditions of load and idler assemblyspacing.

Yet another object is to provide means tor maintaining the primary training roller of a troughing idler assembly above the upper inner edges of the wing rollers while 0 at unequal increments along the strands.

, means not shown.

FIGURE 5-, is another modification of the invention showing a troughing idler assembly in an unloaded condition; f

FIGURE 6 is a view taken substantially along the line 66 of FIGURE Sawith parts in section;

. FIGURE 7 is apartial sectional view taken along the line 7-.-7 of FIGURE 6;

.FIGURE8is a: view of the troughing idler assembly of FIGURE 5 in a loaded condition; and

FIGURE 9 is a detail view of the connecting assembly of FIGURE 8 with parts in section.

Like reference numerals will be used to indicate like parts throughout the description of the figures.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, a portion of a flexible strand conveyor is indicated at 10. The conveyor consists of' aplurality of stands 11 and 12 supporting a pair of flexible strand-s 13 and '14 which may be wire ropes or the like. A plurality of troughing idler assemblies 15, 16, 17 and 18 are hung from the'flexible strands at intervals. The assemblies may be equally spaced or staggered In place of alternate supporting stands, spreader bars 19 may be employed to counteract the catenary sag of the flexible strands between adjacent stands. :A flexible belt having an, upper load carrying reach 20 and a lower return reach 21 is carried by the troughing idler assemblies 1518 and return roller assemblies 22 and 23, respectively. Any convenient power means (not shown) may be utilized to move the belt along the idler assembly. The belt and flexible strands are tensioned by any suitable Referring now to FIGURE 2, the troughing idler assembly 16 of FIGURE 1 is there shown asincluding a center primary load carrying training roller 24 flanked by a pair of end or wing rollers 26 and 28. The wing rollers are joined to the training roller by means of essential to an understanding of the invention, they have not been illustrated further in detail.

The primary training roller 24 has a diameter substantially greater than the diameter of the wing rollers 26 and 28. This causes the belt 20 to rest upon the upper bearing. surface of the training roller throughout substantially its entire length because the upper outer edges 36 and 38 are at a higher level than the upper innenedges 40 and 42. of the wing rollers. Thisdilferen'ce in elevation is substantially equal to. the catenary sag of the strands between idler assemblies 15 and 18 and the result isa substantially level bed for the belt. In some applications it may be advantageous to maintain the edges 36 and 38 only just slightly above the edges of'the wing rollers so that the span of unsupported belt between. rollers will be at a minimum throughout all angles of fieXure.

Referring nowto FIGURE 3, another embodiment of 1 the invention is shown in which the wing rollers 26 and 28 are flexibly connected to a center roller 4'4 by pivotal connections 60 and 62. The assembly is suspended from the flexible strands 13 and 14 by means of hook connecting means 32 and 34. In this instance the diameters of the rollers are substantially the same but the upper outer edges 45 and 46 of the training roller are maintained above the level of the upper inner edges 47 and 48 of the wing rollers at all times by the pivotal connecting assemblies one of which is shown in detail in FIGURE 4.

Referring now to FIGURE 4, a portion of the center and right wing rollers 44 and 28 is shown joined by pivotal connecting assembly 62. The training roller is supported on shaft 49 journaledin bearing 50 which is received in a recess 52 within a head 54 welded or otherwise suitably secured to the interior'of the roller. Shaft 49 projects slightly beyond the end of the. roller and is necked down beyond the bearing to receive a retaining ring 56 which holds the bearing in place and serves as a backstop for the pivotal connecting'stru-cture 62.

Pivotal connecting assembly 62 consists of a pair of members adapted to be receivedzuponthe ends of the shafts that meet at a common pivot point 63. The left member consists of a sleeve portion 64 adapted to be received upon the projecting end of the roller shaft and an inclined arm portion 66 recessed at 68 to form a seat for a similar tar-m. portion '70 on the right connecting member. Any suitable securing means may beutilized to secure the connecting members to the shaft. In this instance registering apertures in the shaft and sleeve portion receive securing pin 72. The arm membersare apertured as at 74 and 76 to receive connecting pivot pin 78 which permits pivotal movement between the two assemblies.

It will be understood that the shafts may either be rotatable or non-rotatable. shown as dead shafts and the arm member 66 of the left connecting member is sloped downwardly and the arm member Won the right'connecting member is slanted upwardly so that the pivot point 63 is located between the projections of the central axis of the rollers when they are each in a horizontal position. By maintaining the pivot point below the center axis of the training roller and above the center axis of the Wing roller, the upper outer edge 46 of the training roller is always maintained at a higher elevation than the upper inner edge 48 of the wing roller. The pivotal connecting assemblies 60 and 62 may be interchangeable, and the assembly has the advantageof utilizing rollers of a uniform diameter.

Referring now to FIGURES through 9, 1a third embodiment of the invention is illustrated. FIGURES fiend. 7 the troughingidler assembly tltlxis shown as In this instance, they are 4 consisting of a pair of wing rollers, 26 and 2.8 and a center training roller 81. The rollers are pivotally connected by suitable pivotal connecting assemblies 82 and 83 I and the entire assembly is suspended from strands i3 and 1-4 by suit-able hook assemblies 32 and 34.

Referring specifically to FIGURE 6, rollers 81 and 28 include projecting shafts 84 and 88 respectively which may be journaled in suitable bearings not shown. The projecting end of shaft 84 is journaled in a resilient cushioning member 90 secured to a guard bar 85, which has a pair of projecting tabs 86- and 87 forming a yoke in which the projecting end of shaft 88 is received. The tabs and shaft 88 are suitably apertured to receive a pivotal connesting pin 89 or the like.

' tween'rollers will not take a reversed curve which might The resilient cushioning member 99 consists of, in this instance, aring or bushing of deformable material 91 such'as rubber which is received in an encasing shell 92. A bearing." seat or collar 93 positioned concentrically within -the encasing shell forms a wear resistant seat for the shaft. Any suitable securing means such as L mem bers 94 welded or bolted to the guard bar 'may be used to join the deformable member to the guard bar.

Although a guard bar 85 is shown as interposed between the deformable member and the yoke, this construction could be dispensed with andthe deformable member connected directly to the yoke. The bar acts as a base on which the deformable member may be vertically positioned to positionthe upper inner edge 99 of the training'roller with respect to the wing roller. The guard bar also servesto fend off objects which would prevent movement of the training rollers. The deform-able memher is secured to the guard bar so that the axis of shaft 84 lies substantially above the central axis of shaft '88 when the rollers are in a horizontal position, as best seen in FIGURET In FIGURES 8 and 9, the troughing idler assembly is shown in a loaded condition. Training roller 81 has moved downwardly with respect to the guard bar 85, and the angle of flexurebetween the rollers has increased considerably. Under load conditions, that portion of the deformable material above the collar 93, which is indicatslight concavity of the surface at 96. Conversely, that portion of the deformable material 97 below'the collar isunder compression as indicated by the bulge at 98. The upper, outer edge 990i the training roller is displaced slightly below the level-of the upper inner edge of the wing roller but it will be understood that by a suitable seleotion of deformable material, and placement of thedeformable member on the guard bar, the compression limit of. the material beneath the floating seat 93 may be reached prior to the displacement of point 99 below pointillll.

In this embodiment, rollers of the same or dissimilar diameters may be utilized. In addition the center training roller will be depressed directly proportional to the load so that the portion of thebelt which spans the gaps betend to weaken the fibers in the surface of the belt.

The use and operation of the invention is as follows:

In all'embodiments of the invention, the load carrying surface of the primary-training roller is maintained at a 'higher level than the adjacent inner edges of the wing rollers at least under'no'load conditions. Adequate belt contact is therefore insured at those rollei' assemblies which seek a lower level due to the catenary sag of the strands.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURES l and 2, a center training roller 24 having a diameter substantially larger than the flanking wing rollers 26 and 28 is used to maintain the belt at a position substantially higher than it would take in an assembly having uniform roller diameters. By utilizing this idler assembly near the midpoint between adjacent supporting stands, the catenary sag of the flexible strands-iscompensated for; This embodiment of the axis of the rollers.

members forming the pivotal connecting assembly meet at a common pivot point 63 which lies between projections The pivotal connecting assemblies may be interchangeable and this embodiment has the advantage of utilizing rollers of equal diameters.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURES 5 through 9, the center training roller 81 is maintained above the upper inner edges of the wing rollers 26 and 28 by a yieldable connecting assembly 82. The shaft 84 of the training roller is received within a deformable yieldable member 91 which may be a rubber ring or a leaf or coil spring. As the idler assembly receives a load, the shaft will compress that portion of the deformable material beneath it so that adequate belt contact will be assured under all conditions of load. This inherent flexibility insures that adequate belt contact will be maintained with the center roller under no load conditions since the training roller is initially offset above the wing roller and the weight of the wing roller itself is not sufficient to depress the resilient material. As the load increases and the tendency for the belt to take an inverse flexure between the rollers increases, the training roller will sink in its floating seat to decrease the reversed curve assumed by the belt. This embodiment has the advantage of utilizing rollers of either uniform or non-uniform diameter and promotes good belt wear.

While three embodiments of the invention have been shown it will be understood that many changes may be made without departing from the essential spirit of the invention. For example, although the rollers are shown as supported upon dead shafts, under some conditions it may be entirely'feasible to utilize a revolving shaft. In this instance suitable pivotal connections may be utilized to permit shaft revolution while maintaining the pivot point above the central axis of the wing roller shafts. Similarly the guard bar 85 may be entirely eliminated in the modification of FIGURES 5 through 9 and the deformable member 90 connected directly to the yoke members 8'6 and 87. A wide variety of materials including rubber or rubber-like substances may be used for the resilient material 91. Coil and leaf springs could also be used. In addition, either of the pivotal connecting means of FIGURES 4 and 6 may be used in any of the idler assemblies of FIGURES -2, 3 and 6.

It Will be understood that the foregoing description is intended to be illustrative only and not definitive. Accordingly the invention should not be limited except by the scope of the following appended claims.

I claim:

1. A flexible connecting assembly for joining the abutting ends of a pair of shafts or the like about a common pivot point including a first member adapted to be received upon the end of a first shaft, said member having a downwardly extending arm, securing means for joining the member to the first shaft, a second member adapted to be received upon the end of a second shaft, said second member having an upwardly projecting arm, securing means for joining said second member to the second shaft, said'arms meeting at a common pivot point located between the central axis of the abutting shafts, and means for pivotally connecting the intersecting arms at the common pivot point.

2. A troughing idler assembly for a flexible strand con veyor, said troughing idler assembly including, in combination,

an intermediate roller,

at least a pair of wing rollers flanking the intermediate roller, 7

each of the rollers being mounted upon a projecting shaft,

the shafts being radially fixed with respect to the surface of the rollers, and

a flexible connecting assembly joining the adjacent ends of abutting shafts,

said flexible connecting assembly maintaining the belt contacting surface of the intermediate roller above the adjacent upper inner edges of the wing rollers in atleast a no load condition,

said flexible connecting assembly including,

" a first extension extending downwardly from the end of a first shaft,

said first extension being carried by the first shaft,

a second extension extending upwardly from a second shaft,

said second extension being carried by the second shaft,

said extensions meeting at a common pivot point located between the central axes of the adjacent shafts, and means for pivotally connecting the meeting extensions at the common pivot point.

3. A conveyor, said conveyor including, in tion,

a pair of flexible strands extending along a conveying course,

multiple pairs of spaced supports located along the conveying course,

a pair of troughing idler assemblies suspended from the strands between adjacent pairs of supports,

each troughing idlerassembly comprising a train of rollers,

each roller train including an intermediate roller flanked by a pair of wing rollers,

a first idler assembly of said pair having the belt contacting surface of its intermediate roller located a substantial distance above the upper inner edges of the adjacent wing rollers,

a second idler assembly of said pair having a belt contacting surface of its intermediate roller iocated substantially level with the upper inner edges of the adjacent wing rollers,

said first idler assembly being located a greater distance from either of two sequential pairs of spaced supports than is the second idler assembly,

- the increased elevation of the intermediate roller of said first roller assembly thereby at least partially compensating for the catenary sag of the flexible strands between adjacent pairs of spaced supports so as to maintain the intermediate rollers of said first and second idler assemblies at substantially the same level to thereby provide good belt-roller contact.

combina- References Cited in the file of this patent.

Great Bnitain Nov. 30, 1904 

1. A FLEXIBLE CONNECTING ASSEMBLY FOR JOINING THE ABUTTING ENDS OF A PAIR OF SHAFTS OR THE LIKE ABOUT A COMMON PIVOT POINT INCLUDING A FIRST MEMBER ADAPTED TO BE RECEIVED UPON THE END OF A FIRST SHAFT, SAID MEMBER HAVING A DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING ARM, SECURING MEANS FOR JOINING THE MEMBER TO THE FIRST SHAFT, A SECOND MEMBER ADAPTED TO BE RECEIVED UPON THE END OF A SECOND SHAFT, SAID SECOND MEMBER HAVING AN UPWARDLY PROJECTING ARM, SECURING MEANS FOR JOINING SAID SECOND MEMBER TO THE SECOND SHAFT, SAID ARMS MEETING AT A COMMON PIVOT POINT LOCATED BETWEEN THE CENTRAL AXIS OF THE ABUTTING SHAFTS, AND MEANS FOR PIVOTALLY CONNECTING THE INTERSECTING ARMS AT THE COMMON PIVOT POINT. 